I was writing a Strike Witches Fic, which one part I really want to add, but can't since I don't know the ages of the Witches (it involves a trip to the pub, you see), because I ain't the best at deducing age from anime/manga. I know that Mio is 19 and later 20, I reckon Minna is in the 18-19 area, and I'd have to say that Shirley and Getrude, due to thier big... um... 'personalities', would be around the 17-18 mark. As for the others... I haven't a clue.

Because Wikipedia does not have their ages, at least not all of them. Wikia might.

Back then it did not mattered how old one was, in some cases a 10 year old girl was considered as a grown woman. For the USA, that was true until the time women got the vote and prohibition of alcohol. Places like in France and Italy, children drink wine with meals and festivities to this day. Same thing with the other nations in and around Europe in WWII. The Japanese had Saki.

With that by 1944: Miyafuji Yoshika is 14 when she joined - 15 at the end of season 1; Sakamoto Mio is 20, with her powers failing as they do in all witches before they hit 25 though I dont know if there is a cure for that; Charlotte Yeager is 16; Gertrud Barkhorn is 18; Minna Wilcke is 18; Erica Hartmann is 16; Lynette Bishop is 15, Perrine Clostermann is 15, Francesca Lucchini is 12; Eila Juutilainen is 15, and Sanya Litvyak is 14.

Lynnete 15? I have never in my life seen a 15 year old big breasts! . Perhaps in the Strike Wiches universe, growth hormones had been added to chikcens many years bfore the war started, and Lynette ate a lot of chicken. 'bout the only semi-logical explination I can come up with. (and yes, I know grwth hormones weren't around then)

Lynette seems to be treated as Britannian, although Bishop's being Canadian seems to be acknowledged in the fact that her elder sister Wilma (a manga character) went to flight school in the Strike Witches equivalent to Canada. Incidentally, the Strike Witches equivalent to Canada is called "Farawayland." I think that sounds cringe-worthily bad and think it would have been better if they'd gone with "Kanata" which is supposedly the proper way to pronounce the native word Canada takes it's name from.

http://strikewitches.wikia.com/wiki/Lynette_Bishop[/mention] wrote:Her pilot archetype is unclear, but is likely one of the children of Billy Bishop, who is the pilot archetype for Minnie Bishop, Lynette's mother. Lynette also has an older sister, Wilma, who is also a Strike Witch, and likely based on Billy Bishop's son, Arthur.

Fifteen years old, Lynette is the only Witch in the 501st who is native to the Britannian Commonwealth.

If this is true then Lynette is Canadian.In WWI, Canada was part of the United Kingdom, as was Australia and India, and there were fighter pilots and aces from those countries too because they are part of the RAF (Royal Air Force) of the United Kingdom.

Now there is a difference between Britannian and the Britannian Commonwealth. Since they try to parallel the rear world in Strike Witches with nations, countries and colonies, Britannian Commonwealth would be the Great British Empire, which at the time Canada was a part of. Since they did not name Canada but makes a reference to a 'Commonwealth', then Canada must be a Britannian Commonwealth.

Britain, America and Russia all have big boobs? I know where I'm going next holiday .As far as the ages ae concerned, I was working under the assumption that they would only recruit people from a certain age, for instance under 15 is too young. Sadly, there are no inocents in war, and Strike Witches throws a lot of logic, not just out the window, but out the top window of Burj Khalifa in Dubai. This is most evident with the fact that teh Britanian soldiers were using teh STEN, however, it should ot exist as it was created for the French Resistance, because it can be stripped right down and easily hidden from Nazis. now I'm pretty sure there aren't thet many people left in Gallia to form a resistance, and the Neuroi don't do door-to-door searchessorry for the rant, I needed to get that thing about the STEN off my chest, (because I don't know an other people (in person) who watch Strike Witches so I can't tell them because I sound like a raving lunatic, a little bit like now)

I kind of doubt that Lynette's family is supposed to have sent those blueberries all the way across the Atlantic ocean. Wilma's profile also seems to indicate that she's from Britannia but got her training in "Farawayland." I don't know how accurate that is, but in general my feeling is that the creators intended the Bishop sisters to be from Britannia, but made some acknowledgement of Billy Bishop being Canadian by having Wilma receive her training in Farawayland and fly for a Royal Farawayland Air Force squadron with the same number as the Royal Canadian Air Force squadron Billy Bishop's son Arthur flew for during WWII.

Where Lynette chooses to go after the disbandment of the 501st and what precisely she says when she talks about how she feels it's important for her to measure up because she represents Britannia could also provide some hints. Unfortunately I don't remember those parts well at all, anyone got their DVDs handy?

Also related to the Bishop sisters, supposedly their familiars are Scottish folds, but that breed didn't exist until the 60s.

Destroyer of Worlds ;D wrote:As far as the ages ae concerned, I was working under the assumption that they would only recruit people from a certain age, for instance under 15 is too young.

People have lied about their ages to get into the military since time immemorial.

True, though a 13 year old passing for a 15 year old seems a little sus to me. It might also be a case of desperate times, though, now that I think about it. Neuroi have practically conquered Europe, humanity needs all the soldiers it can get its hands on. Especially with the short magical lifespan.

Destroyer of Worlds ;D wrote:As far as the ages ae concerned, I was working under the assumption that they would only recruit people from a certain age, for instance under 15 is too young.

People have lied about their ages to get into the military since time immemorial.

True, though a 13 year old passing for a 15 year old seems a little sus to me. It might also be a case of desperate times, though, now that I think about it. Neuroi have practically conquered Europe, humanity needs all the soldiers it can get its hands on. Especially with the short magical lifespan.

I'm sure that Lyndist can add to his side of information of the Viet Nam war; but the youngest known to be killed in the US ranks was is believed to be Dan Bullock at 15 years old. Mind you that's with 6 months of training and he could have been 14 when he enlisted. There were many others known to be his age and survived the war. The average USA soldier age (according to the USA Government sites) in Viet Nam was 21, with a lot of 17yo (high drop outs) and 18yo (hs grads) making up much of the ranks. I remember in the 1970s that average was a lot lower around 16.5 - 17. Posts from various websites ( like this one: http://mattsteinglass.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/worlds-youngest-vietnam-veteran-swims-to-suu-kyi/ ) is showing 16yo soldiers.

In the Civil War, boys as old as 8 played bugles and drums, being on the front line of battle, taking arms up themselves and fighting in battle (often for their own survival). In WWI, there were several teenaged fighter pilot aces, including Werner Voss who had his first kill at 16. He would not live to see 20. On the field, there were many teenaged boys who fought in WWI. Adolf Hitler was 25 when he enlisted in WWI- an old man in comparison to his fellow soldiers at the front. In WWII, The boys of the Hitler Youth tried to defend Germany and later Berlin in the last weeks of the war - the youngest was 6.

Being young in war does not mean anything other than you enlisted or were drafted because many older soldiers in the ranks were killed off and replacements were needed.